Cannot find kittens

So, kitty went missing for a day, and turns up early this morning running frantically out the house with what seemed to be a kitten in her mouth. For the entire day after that there was no sign of her, until tonight, she came into the house meowing and wanting me to pet her. Her tummy is definitely smaller, no longer bulging out the sides. She then ate and started running up and down the house into the room that we earlier saw her carry the kitten out of, and outside, then back inside and outside again, meowing non-stop. She lay down for about a minute inside and i can see she has in fact has been nursing, just 2 teet were prominent. She's back outside now, nowhere to be found. 

How can we find these kittens? Or does it seem as though she can't find them herself, the way she was back and forth in the house and outside? I really want to bring the kittens inside, as there are at least 4 stray cats that hand around outside. 

Unpleasant situation!   You dont know where the kittens are...

So it seems she gave birth somewhere inside the house, but carried them outside...

At this moment the only to do is to proceed to give her food etc inside, and let her run back and forth to her kittens...

Patrol your house extra, IF you discover some kitten she forget. It may still be alive!

With a little luck you may later discover her nest outside, or she may even bring them in, voluntarily...

You can try with talking sweetly follow her, and hope she leads you to the nest.

But if she by any reason dont trust you, she will not lead you to the nest.

Good luck!

Agreed. Keep feeding her indoors and try to keep her access to the indoors/outdoors open if possible. During the daytime slowly do parameter walks and see if you can't find the nest. Keep expanding your search with each pass. Hopefully she has hidden them well enough that they will be safe from strays. Because of the dangers she will likely move her nest again in the next few days so just keep a close eye on her and follow her whenever you can. Who knows, she may even move them back inside!

If you do find them put all the kittens in a carrier. If Mom is nearby she should follow them in. If she does close the door and relocate all of them to a quiet room inside where she has absolutely no access to the outdoors. If she isn't around you can either wait for her to return and get her that way or, if you know where she is and she's friendly, just go pick her up and move her inside. 

This has happened before on TCS and I was very skeptical the first few times about the owners ever finding the kittens. But, more times than not they do and the kittens are happy and healthy. The only downside here is she can go back into heat at anytime and therefore, is at risk of getting pregnant again. Finding the kittens is certainly the primary concern but after you do be sure to consult with a vet about her status. If she is indeed pregnant one option is to spay/abort. It is a hot button topic and certainly only you can make that decision. I'm not trying to push you I am just simply going to remind that animals don't view pregnancy the same way humans do and do not look forward to giving birth. Also, kitten viability (the likelihood that they will survive outside the womb) does not happen until one or two days prior to delivery. These are all just factors to consider and to discuss with your vet. I know it's a 'what if' situation but if you find yourself in it try and base your decision on what is in her best interest. And, that may be to have them or not to. Only you can make that call. 

Vibes that you are able to find the litter and bring them indoors! 

 Hope you find them and can bring them in where they are safe from those strays and from other animals,   and where mom can be kept inside and won't end up pregnant again  ( which would not be good for her or the kittens if she got pregnant now!   ) 

Obviously,  try to watch her when she goes out.   If she won't let you follow,  maybe you could spy on her with binoculars to see where she goes. and at least narrow down the area they might be in  so you can search.   

I agree,  search inside too.  It IS possible that in moving the kittens outside,  she could have got mixed up and forgot one in the house .   Mama cats can't always count!     ( but that also can help to explain her behavior running back and forth.   When she came back in the house,   she was reminded of when she gave birth, she may still smell their scent inside ,  and  that could have made her worried that a kitten was still left behind in the house .   I HOPE it was something like that,  and not that anything happened to the kittens outside.    I'm glad it did look like she had been nursing. 

If you can find them and bring them in, you will need to keep her and kittens securely in one room  that is quiet and safe .    I would make a little den   like a box big enough for her to comfortably strtch out with the kittens,  and about 2 feet tall so she can jmp in and out o the box but it will be a while before the kittens can get out.   I would put a soft fleece blanket inside it   THen I would put a towel or another blanket or something  covering about half of the top of the box,  so that it seems like a little cave .    put this in a corner away from any bright light.    and put her food nearby the box,  her litterbox  a bit farther away. 

Thanks for all the helpful advice! Still no sign of kittens and momma hasn't come in to  eat for the day. Will keep the thread posted

Please do keep us updated. We are rooting for you!!! 

Still no sign of mommy. Hopefully this means she's being a good mother n not venturing far from her kittens. Really hope they do emerge soon.

Momma cat brought her kittens inside this evening, straight into my room, under my bed :-) she is being very protective so we're giving her space. When she stepped outside we took a look under, they are so tiny and adorable, one brown one grey. 

Oh yay I'm so glad she brought them in! 

Now is a tricky conundrum: you want to keep her access to the outdoors blocked so she can't move them out there again BUT, you want to be sure she hasn't left any kittens behind. Her behavior would indicate that these are her only two but there is no way to know for sure. 

I say use your best judgment on this. Maybe go ahead and block her access. If she's really fidgeting to go out let her and see if she brings any more back. 

So glad she's brought the two inside! 

She's actually going out and coming back in as usual, but staying indoors with the kittens for lengthy periods of time. She doesn't have a litter box and she is accustomed to using the bathroom outdoors. 

Question - does the mom cat clean up after her newborns? I am planning on getting a litter box for when they begin to walk around, but in the meanwhile, should i be worried about any messes?

For the first few weeks she should eliminate them by licking their genitals. Sometimes there is a little bit of mess but generally not much. Once they start on solids (usually between 4-5 weeks) then she will stop and you will need to stat litter training. 

Since she's been in and out and hasn't brought any kittens back my guess is it's just these two. I understand that she is an indoor/outdoor cat but from here on out you really need to confine her indoors. Not only is the risk too high of her moving the kittens back outside (or when they are older wandering out and getting hurt) but she is at an extremely high risk of getting pregnant again. Queens can go back into heat anytime after giving birth, and if she does she WILL get pregnant. Having back to back litters like that is extremely dangerous for the Mom, and the second litter is prone to being malnourished due to her not having a break in between milk production. To keep the her as well as the babies safe it is imperative that you bring her indoors until after she has been spayed. 

It's important that you give her a safe space to nurse and care for her babies as well that isn't under the bed. With them so hidden you can't monitor their growth. To ensure they are healthy you should try to weigh them everyday (preferably in grams). I would set up several cozy nesting boxes and put all her necessities (food and water, scratching post, and of course a litterbox) in just one room and confine her there. This is the best way to ensure that she doesn't sneak out and makes kitten proofing much easier when the time comes. You can make a nesting box out of almost anything (a plastic tub, a cardboard box- whatever you have). The key to a good one is that it is in a quiet spot and has a slight lip at the bottom to keep kittens from falling out. Line it with several layers of bedding (towels work best on the bottom with a blanket to lay on- tiny nails snag too easily in the towel material). Use another blanket to cover the top of the box so it's like a cave- she will feel even more protected. I did a quick search for nesting boxes and some of these links may be helpful as you create yours: http://www.thecatsite.com/newsearch?search=nesting+box .  Finally,  even though you are past the labor phase this article still has a lot of useful tips that makes it worth reading: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/80724/all-about-pregnancy-labor-delivery-in-cats .

Best of luck as you make the transition to having them all inside for awhile! 

I am so loving your detailed responses! 

I want to make a bed under my desk and hang a sheet over the entrance so she can feel as secure as she is under my bed (my bed has a skirt all around so it is basically a tent for her). How can I be sure that she doesn't freak out my her kittens being in a different place when she comes back and carries them somewhere else?

All these questions!!

Well I am loving you being receptive to them! I know it's so much easier to just keep letting her go outdoors but it really is a life threatening choice for all three of them right now. I'm so happy to see you are committed to doing what is in their best interest, even if it is a more time consuming path to take. 

Unfortunately, den moves are very common with Queens, and your girl, having been outside so much, is going to be even more prone. In the wild, females move their nest every couple of days to keep from attracting predators. This is a behavior she has already demonstrated and will likely keep up. 

So, this is the big flashing neon light reason to keep her confined to one room. The more space she has to roam the more hiding options she has, and thus the more work you have. But, if you confine her to a smaller area you can manage her options. The best thing you can do is give her attractive nesting options while simultaneously blocking off the areas that are unsafe, such as under the bed or under a dresser. 

As far as blocking, the most foolproof way I have found to do it is to cut plywood to fit and block it all off. It's cheap to do and doesn't take long but it is a project. You could also try using those large under bed storage boxes and fill in the holes with other items like shoeboxes. However, my experience has been if a Queen wants under there she will inevitably find a chink in your armor unless you go full force. 

I think the nesting box under the desk sounds like it would be perfect so for sure set that up. You can start with just that and see how she does. If she's itching to move then you can add another spot. As for moving the kittens: you shouldn't do anything with them unless she is watching. So, wait until she is present (which she should be as she should be confined to that room 24/7 from here on out). When she is, slowly pick up each and move them. She WILL follow. If you need to confine her somewhere like a bathroom while you set up the bed blocks that's okay too. Just use the same process of slowly moving the babies.  After I do something like that I always leave the room for a little while. She will for sure be freaked out and needs time to calm down and scope the situation out. If you have blocked off the unsafe places this is fine to do, and if she chooses another place that is also okay, so long as you have access to them and it's not completely impeding with your life (like one of my fosters did when she insisted her nest be in the middle of my bed....)

Because she is used to having free reign don't expect her to take all these changes lightly. She may cry to get out and get frustrated- you just have to let it happen. Thankfully, Cats are notoriously loyal mothers so it shouldn't impact the attention she gives her kittens but you do want to watch them closely and that's why getting a daily weight is so important. Average gains should be 10-15g, though some days with more or less is normal. If they have several low gain days in a row or start losing weight you would want to have them seen by a vet ASAP to be sure the cause isn't an infection or something like fleas/worms. If you can't get them in within a matter of hours or, if she seems to have abandoned them then you need to be prepared to bottle-feed. I'm not going to go into all the bottle feeding details because I don't want to overwhelm you and because it's not likely to happen. But, anytime you have kittens it's a possibility and therefore you should have some bottles and kitten milk replacer on hand. The best thing to use for weighing is a kitchen scale that measures in grams, and try to do it at the same time everyday for most accurate results. As mentioned, never  move the kittens out of her line of sight for this: just put the scale on the floor and try to be as quick as you can. Really, for the first two weeks or so this is really the only handling they need. Your main job now is to take care of Mom so she can take care of them. Their socialization comes later. 

SInce I'm assuming you are going to make a trip to the petstore make sure you have these things as well: If she's not, your Queen should be on a high quality kitten food. She should have free access to as much dry food as she wants, and you should time feed her wet several times a day (most people do between 2-4 feedings). She needs all the extra calories she can get right now! Also, make sure you have non clumping litter for the kittens. When they start litter training they still won't be able to see well and therefore will explore everything new with their mouths. Clay litter is meant to expand when wet and, if ingested, can cause a life threatening blockage. You can go for a non-clumping clay litter or something more natural like Yesterday's News or brands made from nuts or corn. It's just a personal preference. Finally, since she's not used to using a box she may have an accident or two. If she does, clean up what you can of it and put it in the box so she scent identifies there, and leave it until she uses it. To prevent re-marking make sure you clean the area really well with an enzyme remover like Natures Miracle. Soap and Water will NOT get the scent out! 

I think that's enough information overload for one post.   If you have time read back through some of the threads here- they can answer a lot of the questions you have. And, all the PC&K articles are really good so give them a look through too: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249018/...regnant-cats-kitten-care-articles-and-threads . 

Keep asking questions as they come up.  Vibes she handles the adjustments well! 

 I was so glad to read that the Mama Cat brought the kittens in.    
 EB24 that was a great post and I agree with everything in it. 

Re the queen and litterbox,   you might want to at first get some soil from outdoors and put that in a box mixed with some litter.    Since she is probably used to using soil , that might help her to learn. 

There's also a product called Cat Attract,    it comes as litter with the stuff mixed in it  or you can buy a bottle of the Cat Attract mixture and add it to unscented litter.  

 When you start litter training the kittens  (as soon as they start eating food ) ,  make sure to start with a very low-sided tray that it's easy for them to get into.    I use the low boxes for cases of canned cat food,  which are maybe 1 inch sides,   and I just put a plastic bag over that and put the litter in it.    Then in a few weeks they graduate to boxes about 2 or 2.5 inches high.  

maewkaew said:

 

Re the queen and litterbox,   you might want to at first get some soil from outdoors and put that in a box mixed with some litter.    Since she is probably used to using soil , that might help her to learn. 

Click to expand...

Excellent suggestion. Adding the soil may not only help her transition but add a level of familiarity. I would for sure try it, and then slowly add in litter (or as mentioned the Cat Attract additive which works really well) and wean her off of it. 

Stressful situation - was petting mom cat in the room n suddenly she turned around to face the bed (which the kittens were under) as if she heard something, she bolted under the bed skirt and ran back out with a kitten in her mouth and ran straight into another room. She stayed there and i was wondering why not the other kitten. Unfortunately the second kitten was killed - i am not sure if it was by mom cat herself or another cat. But it was slightly gruesome. I read that it may have been the mom cat if the kitten was sick.So she is down to 1 kitten, in another room. 

Oh no I am so sorry to hear that! When you say you aren't sure by who do you mean maybe s/he was killed outside and Mom brought the body in or killed by another cat in the home?

You are right that Queens will sometimes kill a kitten if they sense that something is "wrong" with them (usually a genetic defect). They will kill the sick one to give the others more milk and a better chance at survival. That is my guess of what happened here. 

Really from this point you have two choices: keep Mom and her singleton confined to one room and keep close watch that she is caring for him/her, or, pull the kitten from Mom and hand raise it. If you do this you want to have her spayed ASAP. Doing this also means you will be bottle feeding every couple of hours so it is a huge commitment. 

I say keep a super close watch because sometimes one kitten isn't enough to keep Mom's attention, especially once she goes back into heat. So, you will want to be extra vigilant about making sure she is feeding them, and there is a chance she will stop. 

I would probably continue to confine Mom and baby and only pull the kitten if you have to. But, if you think the Mom poses a risk to the kitten then you may want to do it now. It is a hard choice, and one you may want to consult with your vet about. 

I'm sure you feel frustrated that this happened and I know things are probably stressful. But, know you still made the right choice in bringing her indoors. Given what the situation was this was the best solution, as keeping her outside meant even more risk to the kittens and a high likelihood of another pregnancy. It is also possible that she killed the kitten because of something s/he contracted outside. If that's the case the other kitten is also at risk, and you really should consult with a vet to make sure s/he is otherwise healthy to prevent this from happening again. 

Again, I'm sorry that this happened.   RIP little kitten  

Oh,she is definitely taking care of little kitten. She spends most of her time with him/her. She doesn't seem to want petting since it's happened, but she'd meow n communicate. I check on them once in a while to make sure all is well, and she sees comfortable in their new location.

Oh and i meant one of  the other cats may have killed the kitten, but seeing as how protective mom cat was over them, i really think the kitten was sick and she did it herself.

I'm so glad to hear she's doing so well with this kitten. I would just leave them together then.

And, make sure she is in a place where no other cats in the house can get to her or the kitten. Not only do they posed threat to her kitten, but she poses a very big threat to them. Never tick off a hormonal cat!